Kosova Daily Report #1507, 98-07-31

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From: Kosova Information Center <http://www.kosova.com/>

Kosova Information Center
KOSOVA DAILY REPORT #1507
Prishtina, 31 July 1998

CONTENTS

[01] President Rugova's Press Conference

[02] Kosova Government Should Be Formed in Institutional Fashion, through Parliament, LDK Official Says

[03] Kosova, the West's Verbal Gymnastics

[04] Heavy Fighting Reported in Reka e Keqe and in Junik

[05] Serb Troops Pound Shtime Villages, One Albanian Killed Friday Morning

[06] Three Albanians Wounded in Serb Attack on Skenderaj Villages

[07] Two Albanians Killed, Many Wounded, in Lipjan Villages

[08] Serbs Set in Fire Albanian Villages in Klina

[09] Albanian Lawyer, in Critical Condition, Moved from Jail to Hospital

[10] Serb Police Detains Head of Fush&-Kosova LDK Information Commission

[01] President Rugova's Press Conference

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes in Malisheva, Rugova said during a press conference in Prishtina today (Friday).

"Hundreds of thousands of Albanians have been internally displaced in Kosova, in addition to tens of thousands who have turned into refugees in Albania and Montenegro", President Ibrahim Rugova said.

He called for international help to cater for the needs of all of them.

Rugova condemned the Serb aggression and violence in Kosova and called on the international community - the United States of America, the European Union, NAT0 and the UN - to take preventive steps in Kosova and prevent ethnic cleansing. He urged international protection for Kosova.

The President of the Republic reaffirmed that the best solution is for Kosova to be an independent country, "with all guarantees for local Serbs".

Asked by the BBB correspondent regarding the formation of coalition Government, Rugova said the idea was clear to all. "In a meeting I have had with all the political parties, I pressed for a broad- based coalition government, in which political parties that participated in the [1998] March 22 elections would be included, but also several others".

There has been a "little progress" in this direction, President Rugova said.

The Kosova Government will have all the departments/ministries, he said, in reply to a question whether the U^K would be represented in the new coalition government.

"I can say that time has come for the independence of Kosova to be recognized, and the international community should protect Kosova's independence", Rugova said. Independence would benefit all, local Serbs and Serbia proper, all the citizens of Kosova, the entire region - "because such an arrangement would stabilize Albania, Macedonia, and the South-east Europe".

In current circumstances it is hard to talk, President Rugova said, in reply to a question regarding the possibility of the start of Kosovar- 'Yugoslav' negotiations. "Conditions should be created for negotiations, so that they yield results, and not be conducted just for the sake of them".

The danger of the conflict spilling over to neighboring countries exists, Rugova said, referring to the incidents in the Kosova- Albania border, which is controlled by the Serbian forces.

"The main thing, now, is to prevent ethnic cleansing in Kosova", President Ibrahim Rugova said at the end of his press conference today.

[02] Kosova Government Should Be Formed in Institutional Fashion, through Parliament, LDK Official Says

The "Informatori", the Prishtina-based Albanian language evening newspaper, quoted Mrs Kelmendi today as saying the Government of Kosova should be formed through "institutional procedures", respecting the Constitution of the Republic of Kosova.

"Therefore, the Government should be voted by the Parliament of the Republic of Kosova", Mrs Kelmendi said.

There have been reports indicating that parties which have not participated in the March elections would like to be part of the Government, but not to be mandated by the Parliament which they do not recognize. The idea of 'an all-party executive', advanced by the U.S., is said to go much along these lines.

"There is general support in Kosova, at grass-root level, for the appointment and election of the Government in one way alone: an institutional fashion", the LDK Secretary General said today.

[03] Kosova, the West's Verbal Gymnastics

This is Kosova of the past five months. The Kosovars have been crying foul.

The West's reaction has been one of a verbal gymnastics: 'No options ruled out in Kosova', but no military action is in the cards; 'We will not allow a repeat of Bosnia', but 'Kosova is not Bosnia'.

Western spokesmen, with the air of wise men, say the Serbian military offensive has 'further radicalized the population' in Kosova; Serbian military and paramilitary police have used 'excessive force'.

The sinister, understated meaning, of these statements is: firstly, that it's wrong for the population of Kosova to even have shown signs of a vivid sign of anger, let alone reaction, to the Serb aggression; secondly, Serbia should have killed and continue killing Albanians and destroying their homes, but not necessarily using the kind of force it is using.

There is no end to this verbal gymnastics.

Serbian military hardware, Serb army and paramilitary troops kill Albanians wantonly in Kosova.

The Western talk of Serbs using 'excessive' force in their killing sprees kills, too.

Subsuming outright Serbian military aggression against the 90 percent of the people of Kosova to 'excessive use' of force is criminal in semantic and human terms.

[04] Heavy Fighting Reported in Reka e Keqe and in Junik

Local Albanian resistance forces, including U^K units, have been fighting heavy Serbian military, paramilitary and police troops.

Serb forces involved in the offensive are receiving re-enforcement on a daily basis. Heavy artillery, motorized units, as well as multiple rocket- launchers were seen heading to the battlefields yesterday afternoon.

The attacked area is sealed off, so it is impossible to determine the extent of damage and the casualty-toll.

In the midst of the ongoing Serb offensive, a lot of people - mostly the elderly, women and children - are on the move, trying to make their way to relative safety to other villages and the town of Gjakova.

The local Albanian structures in Gjakova called on the UNHCR and the International Red Cross to undertake urgent measures to create minimal conditions for the displaced population, to shelter and feed them.

Reports said, though, that part of the fleeing population has had no choice but to run to the mountains surrounding the war zones.

"The current situation has all the ingredients of a humanitarian catastrophe", Albanian structures in the town said. The situation could be alleviated if the community centers are made available, but this can only be done if international institutions intervene with the Serb-installed authorities to allow it, they said.

[05] Serb Troops Pound Shtime Villages, One Albanian Killed Friday Morning

Sources in the are said the villages of Pjet&rshtic&, Kara^ic&, Krojmir, Dug& were pounded for a couple of hours today.

The LDK chapter in Shtime said it has so far learned that one Albanian, Osman Demi (45), from Balinc& village, was killed in Duga.

Meanwhile, sources in Ferizaj said Serb troops pounded again today the Jezerc village. This village, sealed off by heavy Serb forces for almost two weeks now, has been repeatedly attacked with machine-gun fire and artillery.

Jezerc was shelled today from a Serb base at Pishnajat e Shtimes (Shtime Pinewood). Large caliber shells reportedly landed in the village.

The LDK chapter in Ferizaj did not report about the shelling of Jezerc, for its offices were raided by Serb police, who detained several officials.

[06] Three Albanians Wounded in Serb Attack on Skenderaj Villages

The chapter of the Prishtina-based Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) in Skenderaj reported that three Albanians were wounded in the shelling of the two villages yesterday afternoon and evening.

Rasim Hoti (1972) from Jashanica, and Feriz Hyseni (1977) and Fidaim Hyseni (1973) from Vojnika, are the name of the three wounded Albanians, according to the CDHRF.

[07] Two Albanians Killed, Many Wounded, in Lipjan Villages

Sources in Lipjan said the situation in the villages under Serb fire has been deteriorating by the hour. The outlying villages on both sides of the Magura-Shala road - Shala, Krojmiri, Resinoc, Bainca, Pjet&rshtica - are most vulnerable, witnesses said.

The local Albanian population have been fleeing their homes, heading for safer villages, as well as to the mountains, where they spend days and nights in the open sky.

The LDK chapter in Lipjan said two Albanians, a 21-years old girl Af&rdita Qeriqi, and Haxhi Karpuzi (47), have been killed during the Serb shelling of their villages of Krojmir and Shala, respectively, in the past two days.

A 17-year-old boy Tefik Vuniqi was killed in his Leletiq village earlier this week.

The LDK chapter named several wounded Albanians, including Selim Karpuzi (53), Shyqri Qeriqi, (56), Nazmi Qeriqi (25), Nexhare Qeriqi (40) Rinor F. Qeriqi (3), Habib Vuniqi (41), Kimete M&ziu (23).

The situation has been reported volatile in he mining town of Magura, too. At least 1000 Serbs, mobilized with the Serb troops recently, have been garrisoned in the local school in the small town. Local Serbs, armed to the teeth, have been harassing and intimidating the few Albanians who are still in the town and the surrounding villages, witnesses said.

[08] Serbs Set in Fire Albanian Villages in Klina

Clouds of smoke are billowing from houses in these tow villages, the LDK chapter in Klina said.

In Gjurgjevik i Vog&l village the Serb police arrested today Avdullah N. Elezi (45), Shaban B. Elezi (45), Gani H. Elezin, Sadri A. Elezi, Sami A. Elezi, Xhem& V. Elezi, Emin Krasniqi, Agim Kryeziu, Shefqet Desku and Agron Desku, the last two from Klina.

[09] Albanian Lawyer, in Critical Condition, Moved from Jail to Hospital

Bajram Kelmendi, another lawyer in Prishtina, told the Prishtina- based Bujku that Mr. Rukiqi is being treated in the Nephrology Ward of the Prishtina hospital. A source in the hospital said today that Rukiqi has apparently suffered serious kidney damages and he is being treated into the dialysis. 'It is evident he was tortured severely in jail', he said.

Destan Rukiqi was last week (23 July) sentenced to 60 days in prison by the Serbian-run Magistrate Court in Prishtina, his guilt being involvement in a legally-related verbal dispute with a Serb judge in the court. He had gone to the District Court in Prishtina to ask for permission to visit a client of his on pre-trial detention. The Serb investigating judge, Ms Marinkovic, prevented Rukiqi from taking notes from his client's dossier which resulted in a verbal dispute between the two.

Destan Rukiqi was arrested in his office the next day and was sentenced summarily to 60 days in prison. He was taken to serve his prison term immediately.

A lawyer from Prishtina told the KIC on condition of anonymity that the whole thing surrounding Rukiqi's imprisonment and torture has been planned by the Serb regime in advance. Destan Rukiqi, together with a couple of other Kosovar attorneys, was involved in putting together a dossier on Serb regime atrocities in Kosova over the past months which was delivered to The Hague Tribunal recently.

The Kosova Chamber of Defending Lawyers said in an press release on Thursday that the case of Destan Rukiqi represents "an unprecedented case in the profession of the bar - for a defending lawyer to be sentenced to prison just because he was insistent on carrying out his job as a lawyer in a criminal case" The release said Rukiqi has been denied the right to meet his lawyers in the premises of the jail. His health condition has gravely deteriorated, after he was tortured by prison guards.

"The case of Destan Rukiqi, a defending lawyer by profession, is a message to and proof of what other Albanian lawyers can expect, the dangers to their personal security while they discharge their duties of defending clients in criminal cases of a political nature", said the statement of the Kosova Chamber of Defending Lawyers, signed by its chairman Xhafer Maliqi.

Serb Police Raids LDK and CDHRF Offices, Arrests Officials, in Ferizaj

PRISHTINA, July 31 (KIC) - Heavy Serb forces raided today (Friday) morning offices of the local branches of LDK and the Council for the Defense of Human Rights and Freedoms (CDHRF) in Ferizaj.

Witnesses told the KIC that four vanloads of Serb policemen sealed off the area around the LDK and CDHRF at around 11:00, breaking with exceptional brutality into the offices. All the people who happened to be inside were ordered to stand against the walls with hands up, while the police was searching the offices.

After about half an hour the police arrested Sahit Krasniqi, Milazim Haliti, Fatmir Sylejmani, members of the LDK Presidency, as well as Bekim B&rkolli, vice-chairman of the local chapter of the Human Rights Council.

Meanwhile, sources in Ferizaj said that Adem Salihaj, chairman of the local LDK Presidency in town, was arrested at his place at around midday. He is a member of the Parliament of Kosova, too.

The five LDK and human rights officials were still in Serb police custody this afternoon, sources reported. No word still about the pretext of their arrest.

Meanwhile, sources in Freizaj said Agim Re^ica, chairman of a local LDK sub- branch in Ferizaj, was also arrested by the Serbian poilice today afternoon.

[10] Serb Police Detains Head of Fush&-Kosova LDK Information Commission

The LDK chapter in Fush&-Kosova said Arsim Osmani was detained Thursday afternoon in Lipjan. He was taken to the local police station, where he was interrogated and beaten up until around 22:00 hrs.

He was questioned about the LDK organization, and was beaten up merely for being an LDK activist, the LDK chapter said.

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